RIRW – Chapter 24

Some Chapters are password protected, please use - rirw2025c to unlock these chapters. This is to top theft of translations.

Zuo Dan felt that, based on her many years of life experience, there were some favors that couldn’t be owed to others, or else you’d be thinking about them all the time. Like herself—since she was young, she didn’t like to suffer losses. If someone owed her something, she’d keep thinking about it and figure out a way to get it back. On the surface, she was still a well-behaved, sensible, and likable child. So now, with Shen Yiming, she had the mindset of not wanting to owe him anything.

This guy was even better at pretending and calculating than she was. She felt that people like him, who were so meticulous, would remember if you owed them something, and they’d be thinking about it all the time.

Zuo Dan didn’t want to be remembered by anyone, so she quickly erased the favor from when Shen Yiming had brought her back to the village.

Shen Yiming said, “This afternoon, there’s school. You should leave now. The high school in the county town is only half an hour from the nearest supply and marketing cooperative. It’s a straight road, no turns. The farthest supply and marketing cooperative is at most an hour and a half away, also on a straight road. You left the school at 1:30, visited two supply and marketing cooperatives, and spent four hours?”

Then he sighed, “Four hours, you could have walked through the whole county town.”

Zuo Dan blinked in surprise and asked, “You’ve been to the county town?” How did he know so much? Zuo Dan thought back on the journey, and it really wasn’t far off.

“Before coming from the provincial capital, we stopped and rested for a day. I already explored the area there. If we’re going to live here, the only opportunity to go into the city would be the county town. Of course, I need to get a clear understanding of the situation here—supply and marketing cooperatives, hospitals, schools, the black market, and the major organizations, all of these need to be understood.”

“…” Zuo Dan coughed, “Shen Yiming, you’re only 19, right?”

Shen Yiming replied, “Mhm.”

Zuo Dan sighed, “Shen Yiming, don’t you know that using your brain too much can lead to early aging? Sometimes, we need to be a bit muddled.”

Shen Yiming smiled when he heard that, “Don’t you think it’s good to deal with smart people? It saves you trouble.”

Zuo Dan thought to herself that she also liked dealing with smart people, but those smart people couldn’t be smarter than her, or she’d have to work hard to keep up.

“Shen Yiming, have you met the commune secretary recently?”

“I have.”

“Does he have a pretty daughter? And does she have a special fondness for you?” She’d seen it on TV, the schemes between educated youth and the commune secretary’s daughter, full of untold stories. Since she knew Shen Yiming was helping out at the commune, she couldn’t help but feel nervous for the secretary’s daughter.

Shen Yiming replied, “…The secretary’s daughter’s son is about the same age as you.”

“…”

The two of them continued chatting, occasionally teasing each other, and before they knew it, they had walked quite far. Just as they were about to reach Zuo’s village, Zuo Dan was startled by a figure on the road.

Fortunately, she was with Shen Yiming, which helped calm her nerves.

The figure seemed to have seen them and quickly ran over. “Is this Comrade Yiming? Has Dandan come back?” It turned out that Zuo Dacheng, unable to rest easy, had come out to meet her.

Shen Yiming said, “Uncle Dacheng, Comrade Zuo Dan has returned with me.”

Zuo Dan hadn’t expected that Zuo Dacheng would come out in the middle of the night to pick her up. When she was in middle school, her grandmother was too sick to pick her up. Her classmates were all picked up by their parents, while she had to walk home alone with her schoolbag in the dark. So, she never thought anyone would come to pick her up at night. Seeing Zuo Dacheng now, she felt a bit moved.

Shen Yiming stopped the bicycle, and Zuo Dan got off from the back seat. “Dad, why are you out so late?”

When Zuo Dacheng saw Zuo Dan, he finally relaxed. Smiling, he thanked Shen Yiming, “Yiming, thank you so much.” Then, turning to Zuo Dan, he said, “Comrade Yiming said he could pick you up on the way, so I stayed home waiting. Since I didn’t see you, I came out to look. We need to thank Comrade Yiming properly.”

Shen Yiming replied, “Uncle Dacheng, it was just a convenient thing. Don’t mention it.”

Only then did Zuo Dan realize that Shen Yiming hadn’t just happened to come across her, but had purposely come to pick her up. He had pretended it was a casual thing before, but in reality, it wasn’t.

Now that Zuo Dacheng had arrived, they couldn’t ride the bicycle anymore. Shen Yiming pushed it as they walked, and Zuo Dacheng chatted with him, asking about his work at the commune.

By now, it was fully dark. There were no lights in the village. Fortunately, Shen Yiming had a flashlight, or the road would have been hard to walk.

Shen Yiming walked them all the way to the door before riding away. Zuo Dacheng looked at the direction where he had gone and sighed, “This young man is really not bad.”

Zuo Dan pushed open the door and said, “Dad, don’t stand there, come inside.”

Only then did Zuo Dacheng enter the yard. At this time, everyone in the old Zuo family was asleep, and it was pitch dark, except for a faint light coming from Zuo Dacheng’s room. Li Hui, hearing the noise, opened the door and came out. When she saw that the two of them had returned, she felt relieved.

“Come in and sit for a bit. I’ll go make something to eat.” She said, heading towards the kitchen.

Zuo Dan quickly pulled her inside and whispered, “Don’t bother, I’ve already eaten on the way back, I’m not hungry. It’s so late, don’t wake everyone up. Otherwise, Auntie will start making a fuss again.”

When Li Hui heard that Zuo Dan had eaten, she followed her into the room.

After closing the door, Zuo Dacheng asked about the situation in the county.

“Everything’s fine. Xiao Cong is studying seriously, and his classmates are getting along well. You can both rest assured,” Zuo Dan replied, then handed the pork wrapped in brown paper to Li Hui. “Mom, Xiao Cong saved some money and gave it to me. I used it to buy this pork.”

Li Hui was surprised, “Where did he get the money?”

“He worked for others, doing transcription work—learning by doing,” Zuo Dan explained, not mentioning that Xiao Cong had been copying homework for others to avoid upsetting Li Hui, who might have trouble understanding it.

Hearing how hard her son was working, Li Hui felt deeply moved. At least this child born to the old Zuo family had made something of himself, which made the Zuo family proud.

Zuo Dacheng said, “What’s so special about that? Dandan has already earned work points, so it’s nothing big for him to do some work. He’s far behind Dandan.”

Zuo Dan realized that Li Hui favored her son more, while Zuo Dacheng favored his daughter. But of course, that didn’t matter much. What mattered was what to do with the pork.

Seeing the right moment, Zuo Dan continued, “Mom, this pork was bought with Xiao Cong’s hard-earned money. He worked so hard to earn it. I suggest we don’t give it to anyone else. Let’s not waste Xiao Cong’s good intentions. Anyway, the team distributed pork a couple of days ago, so everyone has had their share. We don’t need to give any more.”

Li Hui nodded, agreeing with Zuo Dan’s reasoning. Everyone had already received their share of pork. In fact, Dandan hadn’t eaten any and had given all hers to Xiao Xue. This time, she wouldn’t give it to Xiao Xue. As for the family’s share, she had already listened to Dandan’s advice and sent some to the other house. Now, this pork was Xiao Cong’s gift, so it was only right to keep it. Of course, she would still send a little to the old lady.

“Alright, we’ll keep it for ourselves,” Li Hui agreed.

Zuo Dan’s eyes lit up, “Mom, let’s braise it! I want braised pork.”

Seeing how eager Zuo Dan was, Li Hui recalled how Dandan hadn’t had any meat for herself when she gave it all to Xiao Xue before. She felt guilty about it. Now, she wanted to make up for it.

“Alright, we’ll braise it tomorrow,” Li Hui promised.

The next morning, Zuo Chengcai came out of his room with panda eyes and saw Zuo Dan washing her face by the well. He hurried over, “Dandan, you’re back!”

As Zuo Dan wiped her face, she said, “I got back last night.”

“That’s good. I’ve been meaning to tell you something these past few days…” Zuo Chengcai suddenly realized they weren’t in a private spot to talk and stopped himself.

After a while, the two of them met at the small grove.

This time, Zuo Dan carefully checked the surroundings several times to confirm there was no one around before saying, “Third Uncle, I’ve figured out the grain situation. The buyer is already arranged. If everything goes as planned, I’ll give you the money after work this afternoon, and you can go collect the grain. Remember, only collect fine grain. Don’t collect the coarse grain, so they won’t end up hungry. It’s best to collect from another production team.”

“Alright, alright, as long as you’ve figured it out. I haven’t slept well these past few nights, just thinking about this matter,” Zuo Chengcai said with a bitter expression.

If Zuo Dan hadn’t brought it up, he wouldn’t have even thought about it. But now that his niece had mentioned it, he was full of hope for profit. He didn’t expect much, just enough to hold onto a few dollars.

He was already this old, with no money in his pocket, and he had to ask his mother for money to go watch a play when trying to find a girlfriend. Thinking about it made him feel stifled.

Zuo Dan was satisfied with Zuo Chengcai’s enthusiasm and initiative. For a company to grow, employee morale was very important.

After the autumn harvest, the work wasn’t as hectic as before, but there was still plenty to do—sowing, weeding, transplanting, and farming. There was always work waiting for everyone.

Fortunately, it wasn’t as rushed as during the harvest. They could work slowly, and as long as they showed up in the morning, afternoon, and evening, they could earn their full work points.

Zuo Dan worked absently. They were leveling the ground together. The men used iron shovels to scrape the soil, and the women used hoes to break the clods so they could fertilize and sow afterward.

Li Chenliang kept glancing at Zuo Dan while shoveling the soil. When she noticed, she winked at him and nodded towards the small hill where they had gathered firewood last time, signaling to meet there again. Li Chenliang was reassured.

“Li Chenliang, what are you looking at?” Li Hongbing, who was behind him, asked as he was working the soil. He frowned when he noticed Li Chenliang and Zuo Dan exchanging glances. “Li Chenliang, don’t make any mistakes. Your dad is an officer in the armed forces. You’re from a cadre family, so your relationship must be politically correct. Keep your distance from those with problematic backgrounds.”

Li Chenliang, who was excited about getting to eat rice and white flour soon, felt frustrated after hearing Li Hongbing’s words. He casually replied, “Politically correct? Well, how about you then?”

“Li Chenliang, what did you just say?” Li Hongbing was left blushing.

“You told me to find someone politically correct, and you’re the one who’s right. Your dad’s on the revolutionary committee, so his political background is perfect. Actually, your dad knows my dad, so I’ll talk to him, and maybe they’ll agree,” Li Chenliang said, excited.

Li Hongbing widened his eyes, staring at Li Chenliang, and walked away with his hoe, muttering, “Dream on!”

After Li Hongbing left, Gao Wei walked over. “I say, you weren’t serious just now, were you?” he asked, shivering at the thought of Li Hongbing. Marrying someone like her would be like marrying a mother-in-law, an old nag.

Li Chenliang chuckled, “Of course not. I was just teasing her. She likes Shen Yiming, so she won’t be interested in me. I’m just scaring her a bit.”

“She likes Shen Yiming?” Gao Wei asked in surprise.

“Of course,” Li Chenliang replied, laughing. “Otherwise, why would she come here as a sent-down youth? Her dad’s on the revolutionary committee, and at worst, she could join the military. Why would she come here to farm? It’s all because of her husband’s work.”

“…Shen Yiming is too pitiful,” Gao Wei sighed.

Li Chenliang glanced at him sideways, “What’s pitiful about him? He might actually be enjoying himself. If he really ends up with Li Hongbing, her father could make a call, and he’d go straight back to the provincial capital.”

As for why they weren’t together yet, Li Chenliang believed Shen Yiming was playing it cool, waiting for Li Hongbing to take the initiative and take control of their relationship.

After work that afternoon, Zuo Dan went to the small hill first. After a while, Li Chenliang and Gao Wei also showed up. The three of them gathered firewood while discussing important matters.

“Shen Yiming has already asked the old team leader to have the team trade the fine grain for coarse grain at the commune. Now it’s harder to collect fine grain than before,” Zuo Dan started the conversation with this news.

“Is that true?” Li Chenliang furrowed his brows in frustration. “That guy is up to no good.”

Zuo Dan said, “It doesn’t matter whether they’re doing it with bad intentions or not, the situation is already messed up. But don’t worry, the thing I promised you will definitely work out, just with a little more difficulty than before. After all, they’re exchanging with the commune and not taking any risks. If our prices are the same, we won’t be able to get the grain.”

Li Chenliang was extremely frustrated and felt that he must have been enemies with Shen Yiming in a past life. He just wanted to buy some fine grain, help his relatives and friends collect grain, and prove his abilities, showing them that even though he was farming in the countryside, he could still manage a big operation. But before he could even make it happen, Shen Yiming had already interfered.

Looking at Zuo Dan’s bright eyes, he asked doubtfully, “You’re not lying to me, right? Is this just to raise the price?”

Gao Wei chimed in, “Yeah, what a coincidence. How could this happen just like that?” He had always thought Zuo Dan was no simple character.

Zuo Dan took a deep breath in frustration and said, “If you don’t believe me, go ask the old team leader. Would I really be talking about a lie so easily exposed? Cooperation is built on trust. If you don’t trust me, you can go to Shen Yiming for the grain.”

She turned angrily and started walking away.

“Hey, don’t be angry, I’m just asking,” Li Chenliang hurriedly called after her. If Zuo Dan’s news was true, then he really could only rely on her for this matter.

“Tell me, how much will the price be?”

Zuo Dan took out a piece of paper from her pocket. “This is the price I found out in the city yesterday. I made this list based on our current situation. This is the most reasonable price, and I think we don’t need to change it.”

Li Chenliang hesitated, still feeling something was off, though he couldn’t quite pinpoint what.

Seeing his lack of response, Zuo Dan said, “You said before, we’ll buy as much as we need, no problem with money. Are you backing out now? Were you just boasting before?”

“Who said that? I keep my word!” Li Chenliang declared, taking the paper from her hand. Almost every pound of grain had gone up by three cents compared to the original price.

“If you think it’s fine, you can pay some money and buy a batch of fine grain first. Oh, and the transportation cost is extra. You know, it’s far, and we’ll need to hire a truck, which will cost a bit. With the truck and transport, it will be about four or five yuan. Don’t think it’s expensive—this grain doesn’t come with any receipts. Where can you find fine grain without receipts?”

Li Chenliang quickly did the math in his head, and it seemed reasonable. The price was about the same as the black market in the city, and it would be hard to buy so much.

Most importantly, since Shen Yiming was messing things up, they had to hurry. There wouldn’t be another chance.

After thinking it through, Li Chenliang pulled out fifty yuan as payment for the first batch of grain and transport costs.

Zuo Dan knew Li Chenliang was a local rich guy, but she didn’t expect him to be this rich, carrying so much cash. Rich people are really something.

On her way back carrying firewood, her third uncle met her halfway.

Zuo Dan took out forty yuan and said, “Uncle, for two hundred pounds of fine grain, delivered to the county post office. The extra is for our profit, so let’s save wherever we can.”

Zuo Chengcai was so shocked he almost dropped the firewood. He quickly took the money and started calculating in his head.

For two hundred pounds of fine grain, no receipts, it would cost at most thirty yuan. He could get in touch with a truck driver he knew, and if he took it to the county, it would only cost about one yuan for the driver’s fee.

After calculating it all, he could still make almost four yuan. On the farm, working a day for two mao (a small amount), he’d have to work for over twenty days to make that much. This was all made in one day. Not bad, not bad. This was worth doing. After a few more times, he could have some tens of yuan in his hands.

Zuo Dan patted her pocket and said, “Uncle, hurry up and get it done. After it’s done, we’ll split the money. I can give you four yuan here.”

Zuo Chengcai’s eyes widened in excitement. “I’ll ask Uncle Shuisheng for leave this afternoon.”

By missing one day of work, he could earn eight yuan. Anyone who didn’t do this would be a fool.